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Saturday, January 16, 2010

Daily Painting Practice - Floral Celebration - Painting Peonies Again

Click on the painting to enlarge the image

Floral Celebration

22"x28"

oil on canvas

Yes, completed on time! Doesn't it feel good when you make a deadline and you don't feel you have sacrificed on quality?

I so enjoyed painting this. Though, as with every painting, there were times when I didn't think it would work or I looked at the painting and it felt it was missing the mark. That is a dangerous time when an artist has those thoughts and feelings.

That is when I feel like a TV doctor on a soap opera, standing in front of the patient ... the patient's life in my hands...one false brush stroke, one mistake with the palette knife and the painting could die before my eyes!!!! (Sorry, all artists need a bit of drama. It helps keeps us passionate about the work).

When those times come, when you don't think a painting is working but the idea for the painting is still a good one, step back and try this.

1. Hang the painting upside down or look at it in a mirror. If you can identify the weakest part, fix that first.
2. Ask your official critique partner/wife to tell you what bothers her the most. ( keep this conversation limited to the painting)
3. Place the painting against the wall surrounded by a few of your best and worst paintings. This helps you see where it sits on the scale of previous work.
4. Finally, get dramatic! Pretend you have money. Would you purchase this painting? if not... why?

Lovely, gentle piece which makes me think of gentile times, good manners, home baking... thankyou for the memories.

I too am a strong advocate of the mirror and unside down tricks, or taking works into photoshop to reverse them or look at them in greyscale. When I have time I like to put a work away for at least ten days, and look at it again with fresh eyes. Others ask to be pinned up in the kitchen for daily contemplation... each work has its own mode of solution!

Your comment made me laugh though, how often have I not wanted to sell a work but have let it go, thinking "I can't even afford my own paintings!"

Yep, I don't see any quality sacrificed in this one. It's so beautiful, soft with powerful photorealistic quality. Thanks for the tips. I'll keep this in mind the next time I am at a loss as to how my works is doing or what direction the painting would head to.